We are aware that an article written by Mr John Rakic of Trafalgar Group of , Companies, in relation to vermiculite based fire products, is being circulated throughout the industry.

The article makes various allegations in relation to the use of vermiculite products in hospitals. LAF Group disagrees strongly with the allegations contained in that article and believes that they are unsubstantiated and not based on scientific evidence.

We attach for your information a report prepared by Dr Peter Haberecht, the Principal Research Materials Engineer at Materials and Environments (MATENV) Pty Limited, responding to the article.

An article by John Rakic, Managing Director of Trafalgar Group of Companies

As engineering consultants we all have a duty of care to ensure our specifications do not inadvertently result in inferior product selection which may lead to serious illness or in extreme cases fatalities.

The requirements for correct specifications of materials are paramount for the construction and upkeep of our hospitals. We all have family members, friends or even ourselves that end up needing to spend time in one of Australia’s growing number of hospitals.